The present invention relates to a device for degassing and brazing preassembled vacuum interrupters in one brazing operation.
Vacuum interrupters for vacuum circuit breakers, vacuum contactors, vacuum load interrupters in the medium-voltage range and also in the low-voltage range, for example, as motor protection switch, have a variety of uses.
The structure of a typical vacuum interrupter is depicted in the drawing in FIG. 2. Vacuum interrupter 1 includes movable conductor 12 and stationary conductor 13 which are equipped with a contact piece at the front-side ends facing each other. The actual vacuum tube is formed by metallic cover parts 15 including an insulator 14 located therebetween. Movable conductor 12 is sealed with respect to the cover by a bellows 16. The outer parts forming the vacuum tube are interconnected via brazing points L, just as contact pieces 18, 19 with conductors 12, 13. The contact pieces are laterally surrounded by cylindrical screen 17 which is also fixedly connected to cover 15 via a brazing point.
The oldest method for manufacturing the vacuum interrupter, namely the degassing, welding, and brazing of the parts, is the so-called xe2x80x9cpinch-off methodxe2x80x9d. In this context, the parts made of high-grade steel are initially pre-degassed at approximately 1,000xc2x0 C., then the stationary contact group and the movable contact group are each pre-brazed individually, and the complete vacuum interrupter is assembled of these parts and coupled to an ultra-high vacuum pump system via a copper pipe, and subsequently heated to a temperature of 400xc2x0 to 500xc2x0 C. during at least 24 hours, cooled down, and the copper pipe is squeezed together, i.e., pinched off via a hydraulic pressing device. Then, the vacuum interrupter is separated from the ultra-high vacuum pump system.
Another known method for manufacturing vacuum interrupter is described as direct brazing sealing technique. In this case, the high-grade steel parts are equally pre-degassed at approximately 1,000xc2x0 C., and the stationary contact subassembly and the movable contact subassembly are pre-brazed between 700xc2x0 C. and 960xc2x0 C. Subsequently, the brazed subassemblies, together with the appropriate ceramic bodies and corresponding brazing foils, are preassembled to form the vacuum interrupter, pumped empty at temperatures between 700xc2x0 C. to 860xc2x0 C., degassed, the getter is activated, and the vacuum interrupter is sealed ultra-high vacuum tight inside a high-vacuum brazing furnace. The aforesaid manufacturing techniques are multi-step methods.
Moreover, the xe2x80x9cone-shot brazingxe2x80x9d technique is known, in which all brazing and degassing operations for manufacturing the vacuum interrupter are carried out in an integrated manner in only one brazing cycle.
For carrying out the direct brazing sealing technique and the one-shot brazing technique, special high-vacuum brazing furnaces are required which can reach a final pressure between 5xc3x9710xe2x88x927 and 5xc3x9710xe2x88x928 mbar in the cold condition. These high-vacuum brazing furnaces have the feature of being composed of a double-walled cylinder which is closed with a double walled dished head on both ends. One of the dished heads is designed as a door so that the furnace can be loaded and unloaded. The furnace contains heating elements made of graphite, molybdenum or tungsten. If molybdenum and tungsten heating elements are used, the furnace is provided with a metallic lining made of molybdenum and/or high-grade steel. Depending on the size of the useful space of the furnace and on the geometry of the vacuum interrupters to be manufactured, it is possible for 50 to 500 vacuum interrupters to be brazed and degassed in one batch. Such a brazing cycle is composed of:
1. Evacuating furnace and batch to 5xc3x9710xe2x88x924 to 5xc3x9710xe2x88x925 mbar in 45 to 80 minutes.
2. Switching on the heating and carrying out a predetermined temperature program for furnace and charge until the brazing temperature is reached:
letting furnace and charge cool off
switching on the rapid cooling and waiting until approximately 40 to 70xc2x0 C. are reached.
Depending on the batch, a complete brazing cycle takes approximately 10 to 12 hours and is always a discontinuous process, involving the three working steps of loading the furnace, brazing the batch, and unloading the furnace.
An object of the present invention is to provide a faster and more inexpensive method for degassing and brazing vacuum interrupters based on the one-shot brazing technique, in particular, to reduce the outlay of energy and time.
The present invention provides a device for degassing and brazing preassembled vacuum interrupters in only one brazing operation, including a base plate (21) having at least one brazing site (2) which features an opening (27) of the base plate for connecting a suction pump and a bell (20) which covers the opening (27) and can be put on the base plate and lifted off, and including an excitation coil (3) which surrounds the bell (20) on the outside and to which medium- or high-frequency energy can be applied, including a medium- or high-frequency generator for the excitation coil, and a susceptor (4) which is arranged inside the bell (20) and designed as a cylindrical tubular piece for receiving at least one preassembled vacuum interrupter.
As a holding device for the vacuum interrupters, a grid-like locating plate for inserting the preassembled vacuum interrupters is preferably provided in the opening of the base plate or on the base plate above the opening. Depending on the size of the vacuum interrupter and of the grid, possibly, several smaller vacuum interrupters can be arranged in lieu of a large vacuum interrupter. The grid-like structure of the locating plate brings about a high flow conductance during the pumping out of the gases.
To attain a high vacuum, moreover, it is proposed for an annular groove to be formed on the upper side of the base plate, the annular groove surrounding the opening, and a suitable sealing ring being arranged therein in a manner that it is joined to the base plate in a high vacuum-tight manner.
For exact heating to attain the brazing temperature and for cooling, provision is made for thermoelements which are arranged in the head region of the bell via a high vacuum-tight gland. Also provided are pressure-measuring elements for the inside space and for the suction line to the suction pump, i.e., an ultra-high vacuum pump system for achieving the appropriate degassing and the corresponding high vacuum with certainty.
For this, preferably, suction connecting pieces which are fixedly connected or which can be connected in a vacuum-tight manner are provided on the bottom side of the base plate at the opening.
The fast heating via the excitation coil and the allocated susceptor which is made of a material which very easily absorbs magnetic field lines and is able to very quickly absorb magnetic energy is essential to the invention. The susceptor is preferably composed of soft magnetic materials, such as iron and iron alloys, for example, Fe, FeNi, FeNiCo, etc. This applies especially in the lower frequency spectrum. In the higher range of the used frequency spectrum, it is also possible to use higher-melting metals and alloys, such as Mo (molybdenum), W (tungsten), Ta (tantalum), high-grade steels and superalloys. Using the medium- or high-frequency energy according to the present invention, the object to be brazed, i.e., the preassembled vacuum interrupter, can be very quickly heated to the desired brazing temperature.
The arrangement may be such that the excitation coil has an annular design and surrounds the bell, namely transversely to the vertical switching axis of the vacuum interrupter which is appropriately arranged inside the bell, the excitation coil being arranged approximately centrically with respect to the susceptor surrounding the vacuum interrupter. For an optimum heating, provision is made for the susceptor to be arranged on insulating supports in a manner that it is spaced from the base plate so that it surrounds the regions of the vacuum interrupter which are to be brazed.
The powers which can be delivered by the excitation coil can vary between 1.2 kW to approximately 30 kW, the frequencies lying between 3.5 kHz and approximately 1 MHz.
An ultra-high vacuum pump is used as the suction pump so that the pressure inside the bell can be kept at a value smaller than 2xc3x9710xe2x88x927 during the entire brazing process.
The bell is movable, in particular raisable, for example, with the assistance of a lifting device, for the loading and unloading of the brazing device.
For increased productivity, it is preferred for the base plate to be equipped with more than one brazing site, i.e., with more than one opening, each opening being allocated a bell on the upper side and suction connecting piece on the bottom side. All suction connecting pieces of a base plate are led to a high vacuum system via suction lines, and each suction connecting piece is allocated a corresponding high vacuum valve for coupling and/or separating the bell to the high vacuum pump. The heating device in the form of the excitation coil with the generator is allocated to the brazing sites such that the individual brazing sites can be approached successively by the one excitation coil by moving the excitation coil and the generator correspondingly. In the case that two rows of brazing sites are provided on the base plate parallel to each other, the excitation coil with the generator can be arranged on a rail located therebetween in a manner that they are traversable and rotatable and raisable. If the brazing sites are arranged in a circle on a disk, the excitation coil with the generator can be arranged in the center and be moved to the individual brazing sites by a corresponding rotary movement. Moreover, the generator can be equipped with a lifting device for performing a vertical lifting movement.
Furthermore, it is possible for the manufacturing installation containing several brazing sites and a generator and an excitation coil to be equipped with a control device so that the manufacturing process can be carried out automatically, that is the loading of the brazing sites, the evacuation of the loaded brazing sites, the heating, cooling and the removal and the reloading, which can take place successively just as on a carousel. The control can be performed via computer, for example personal computer (PC), and/or with the assistance of a programmable control system.
The device according to the present invention makes it possible for vacuum interrupters to be manufactured in an economical manner. In this context, the following advantages are achieved:
Very fast heating of the vacuum interrupters through the use of small units, i.e., small bells as vacuum chambers.
Good possibilities of monitoring the preassembled vacuum interrupter during the entire brazing process through the use of transparent quartz glass bells; each vacuum interrupter can be monitored visually as well.
The flow of the brazing material during the brazing process of the vacuum interrupter can be easily monitored.
By designing each brazing site for one or more vacuum interrupters with the smallest possible space requirement, extremely short evacuation times for the brazing site underneath the bell are possible.
Due to the small volume and mass of the brazing device and because of the only small number of vacuum interrupters to be brazed at a brazing site, it is possible to attain very low pressures during the brazing process.
The entire device for degassing and brazing vacuum interrupters altogether requires low investment cost because of the simple design, however, it being possible to manufacture large manufacturing quantities of vacuum interrupters in an automated or semi-automated process in the installation.
Very fast heating and cooling times of the brazing site in the bell are possible because only one or only a small number of vacuum interrupters need to be heated or cooled at one brazing site.
It is possible to measure the temperature and also the pressure in the chamber very exactly and to control the manufacturing process accordingly.
The device according to the present invention is suitable, in particular, for manufacturing vacuum interrupters for load interrupter switches, vacuum contactors for medium and low voltage.